The present invention relates to an apparatus for inputting and processing character and image information, or more particularly to an information inputting and processing apparatus in which an input operation can be performed easily and comfortably even by one hand, and a key entry error can be prevented.
In recent years, with the widespread use of personal computers, more and more documents have come to be disposed of electronically. Not everyone, however, has an ability to operate a keyboard, nor are there many persons who can make rapid entry in the keyboard by blind touch. The arrangement of keys of keyboards currently in use is made with no special identification of respective keys nor to have any logical connection between the keys, and therefore the keytop arrangement thereof is difficult to remember. The recent trend is toward directly operable interfaces such as a mouse and the like. In extreme cases, information entry or information access is made possible without using a keyboard. Nevertheless, a keyboard remains as the best means for making entry of characters. Further, many kinds of pen entry have been proposed, but they pose a problem of entry speed, and therefore they have not yet formed a mainstream in this field.
Also, keyboards mainly in use are of the ASCII system arrangement, and new keyboard arrangements have yet come to be accepted. Conventional keyboard and mice, however, are not suitable as means for entering information into TV, etc. with one hand, while the other hand is engaged in any other work.
In order to reduce the number of keys on the keyboard, it is necessary to express each code by a combination of a plurality of keys and to assign a plurality of codes to each key. It is often said, however, that assignment of a plurality of codes to each key makes it difficult to remember the key arrangement. For beginner users, who are used to learn key positions while tracing letters on keytops by the eye, a complicated keyboard system is a great barrier to their effort in such a case, and makes it difficult for them to become skilled in blind touch in a shorter period of time. Users, who operate the keyboard for the purpose of doing their job, may be eager to learn the key positions, but for the use by users in home or for use in entertainment, the users will be less motivated to remember the key positions.